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Fellow Drammers,
We’re excited to announce a special online tasting on Saturday, Nov. 15th starting at Noon Pacific / 3pm EST in the US and 20:00 in the UK to celebrate the launch of the Tormore Distillery, as well as tasting through some of the most elite releases from Elixir’s Single Malts of Scotland line from the past year. If you’re not familiar with Tormore or Elixir, you’re in for a treat. There’s a lot to the Elixir story, going back to the founding of London’s iconic The Whiskey Exchange, which quickly became recognized as one of the premier whisky shops in the world. It was founded in 1999 by Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, and they launched Speciality Drinks in 2017 as an independent bottling arm for The Whiskey Exchange, later renaming it to Elixir Distillers, which bottled a range of independent bottlings of Scotch under their Elements of Islay, Port Askaig and Single Malts of Scotland lines (not to mention their Black Tot rums). Then in 2021, the Singhs sold The Whiskey Exchange to Pernod Ricard with an eye on using proceeds from the sale to build a distillery on Islay (Portintruan, which is nearly complete) but also to acquire the Tormore Distillery in 2022 (from Pernod). Tormore which was originally built in 1960 to supply malt for a line of blended Scotches called “Long Johns” and in more recent years has been a key ingredient in Ballantine’s and will continue to be an important part of Chivas. The Elixir team has put a lot into rebuilding the distillery, recasking the aging stocks, etc, and there’s been a lot of anticipation for their official relaunch — their first release just hit the United States with a tiny, tiny number of bottles (we were only able to get 1 bottle of each of the 3 “blueprint” expressions for the launch.
So, for this tasting, we’ll welcome Elixir’s Head Blender Oliver Chilton as we taste through these 3 expressions, along with some of Elixir’s most elite releases from the last year under their Single Malts of Scotland line. Here’s the lineup:
Tormore Blueprint Series - 10yo Bourbon. Only 180 bottles came to the US for this first release. 48% abv
Tormore Blueprint Series - 10yo Toasted Barrel. Again, only 180 bottles came to the US, 48% abv.
Tormore Blueprint Series - 10yo Cream Sherry Cask. Same story — 180 bottles came to the US, 48% abv.
Single Malts of Scotland - Director’s Special - Ben Nevis 27yo. They only occasionally bottle under this “Director’s Special” line, and they are intended to be the best of the best of the best (and priced accordingly — these go for $650/bottle!). Distilled in 1996, 1 of 228 bottles released, 49.5% abv.
Single Malts of Scotland - Ardmore 26yo. Priced at the comparatively tame but still hefty $312/bottle, this was distilled in 1997, 1 of 235 bottles.
Single Malts of Scotland - Ledaig 18yo. All 18 years it matured in a refill hogshead, 1 of 243 bottles released, Cask #300347. 59.3% abv ($340/bottle)
Single Malts of Scotland - Blair Athol 16yo. Cask #700071, Distilled in 2008 and aged for 16 years in a refill barrel, which yielded a total of 178 bottles. Tucked into the central Perthshire town of Pitlochry, Blair Athol creates a weighty spirit with a nutty, malted profile. 53.7% abv. ($144/bottle)
Single Malts of Scotland - Benrinnes 13yo. Cask #307467, Distilled in 2010 and aged for 13 years in a refill hogshead, which yielded a total of 289 bottles. This thick, heavy spirit produced at this Speyside distillery lends itself to long aging, giving a full and creamy mouthfeel and rounded fruit flavors. ($118/bottle)
Single Malts of Scotland - Dailuaine 12yo. Cask #790, Distilled in 2011 and aged for 12 years in a Sherry butt, which yielded a total of 680 bottles. 58.9% abv ($111/bottle)
That’s our lineup, we hope you can join us! Please let us know if you have any questions.
Cheers!
Drammers Club